


A Love This Strong

by rainbowsandgucci



Category: One Direction
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Angst, Creation, Crying, Death, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Symbolism, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Temporary Character Death, kind of anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 02:42:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14510772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowsandgucci/pseuds/rainbowsandgucci
Summary: No one, fell in love, because that’s how They wanted it. That’s just how it was, and that’s how They wanted it to stay, and itdid.Until Harry and Louis came along, and, of course, fell in love.





	1. Chapter 1

Before life began, like _really_ began, there was already life.

There was a small community, of about maybe fifty humans, who had been there for a long time. Of course, time wasn’t really a thing back then either, so they just went about and did their own thing, and it was simple.

Life was simple, as it always is until two people fall in love.

Back then, no one fell in love. No one died, no one was born, and _no one_ fell in love. People sometimes would appear, and people would sometimes disappear. No one knew why, but it had always been like that, so it went unquestioned.

There was affection, of course, and sometimes people would live together in their simple houses, but no one fell in love.

_No one_ , fell in love, because that’s how They wanted it. That’s just how it was, and that’s how They wanted it to stay, and it _did_.

Until Harry and Louis came along, and, of course, fell in love.

-

Harry had been a part of the community for as long as anyone could remember. Some people even thought (when they bothered to think about it) that he’d been one of the first ones _in_ the community. He himself wasn’t sure, and even if he did know, he probably wouldn’t have said either way.

Louis, was the last person to ever be added to the community. He showed up the same way anyone else did, at the center of the Garden. There was no fanfare, no special welcome.

Just. Existence.

The first person to meet him was Harry, and in that first instant, Harry knew something was different.

Looking at Louis’s eyes, and the almost startling clarity they held, he felt….odd.

Normally, he felt at peace -just like everyone else- and there was nothing that ever disturbed that. Until Louis.

Louis, and his blue eyes, his hair that Harry just _always_ wanted to be touching. Louis, with his big smile, his delicate fingers, and his sweet as honey voice.

They established early on that he liked to _gogogo_ , and he was quick to do so. Everyone else that was in, or had ever been in their community was rather slow to smile, talk, move, or laugh, just because there was no rush.

Louis however, was always laughing it seemed. At first, it was unsettling, and everyone just left him to it. But after a lot of jokes, and cajoling from Louis, Harry felt himself begin to laugh _with_ him, rather than just indulge him.

It was pure _bliss_ , that first little while. It was like a crescendo; a build up from being cautious and wary, the gradual acceptance of the comfort they found in one another, and then finally, a full blown fortissimo of feeling.

Back then, there wasn’t a name for that feeling. It was just...how it was. The needing to be near each other, wanting to make each other laugh, the constant need to be _HarryandLouis_ instead of just Harry and Louis, it was just how it was, and it was beautiful.

-

Neither of them can ever recall exactly what happened, just that there was a blinding flash of light, a noise that sounded like angered screaming, and then silence.

Harry wakes up in a bright area, that’s no less peaceful seeming than the place he came from, but instead of feeling the comforting normalcy of his way of life, it just makes him uneasy. There are no other people, no houses, not even a rock. More importantly, there’s no _Louis_. The place, whatever it is, also stretches as far as Harry can see, and when he tries to walk in any direction, no discernable change is made, so after a bit, he gives up.

He’s there for what seems like forever -something strange for him, because time has never _mattered_ before, but then again, a lot of new things matter where his Lou is concerned- and he’s just beginning to believe he’s never going to get to leave, when he’s able to distantly make out a figure slowly moving closer to him.

At first, he entertains a small hope that maybe, just _maybe_ it’s Louis, his little piece of normalcy in this endlessly white purgatory; but then the figure gets closer, and whoever it is, is much taller than Louis could ever hope to be. As the figure approaches, Harry begins to grow uneasy again, but seeing as there’s really nowhere to run, he settles for trying not to seem too panicked.

When the person finally reaches him, far quicker than Harry would’ve thought possible, they just stare at him. Harry shifts nervously, and fidgets with his own fingers for a moment, before clearing his throat. When they still don’t respond, he feels slightly impatient, and is just about to open his mouth to speak, when the person clears their own throat. They give him a slightly grim smile, before _finally_ speaking.

“Hello Harry, I hope you aren’t too frightened.” Harry blinks. That’s...not the greeting he expected.

“I um. I’m not frightened? I don’t really understand what that-I’m just.” He wrinkles his nose, then gives the person a pleading look. “Do you know where my Louis is?”

The person just gives him a pitying look, and sighs. “I was rather hoping you wouldn’t ask that of me my child.”

Harry feels something inside him swoop. What an odd feeling. 

“I-I’m sorry I just need to know-is he alright?”

They give Harry another look, one that makes Harry feel fidgety, and then gesture behind Harry. When he turns around to look, there’s a comfortable looking chair behind him. When he gives them a questioning look, they just sigh again. “I’m sorry, but I think you may want to be sitting.” 

Harry’s eyes widen, and he entertains the thought of refusing, but he needs to know where Louis is, needs to know that he’s _alright_ , so he sits.

The person has made another chair appear, and is also sitting as well, across from Harry. They don’t appear to want to start the conversation, but after another moment of staring silently at Harry, they finally shift, and begin speaking.

“You are a very peculiar person Harry.” That sentence makes no sense to him, so Harry stares back.

“Where is Louis?” They smile.

“I can’t tell you, nor can I take you to him.”

Harry swallows. “W-Why not?”

They reach a hand up to their face, and begin rubbing their cheek, looking considering. “You have, well,” they make a face, “upset, some...powerful beings. Really, one in particular.” 

Harry shakes his head in confusion, and sits forward in his chair. “I didn’t mean to upset anybody! I didn’t-I just want to know where Louis is.”

They shake their head as well. “I’m sorry Harry, I can’t tell you.” Harry opens his mouth again, and looks like he’s about to rise from his chair, and they hold up a hand. “Please, let me explain.” Harry closes his mouth, and nods warily, before sitting back slightly again.

They take a deep breath, looking determined. “Alright. I would give you my name, but you wouldn’t be able to pronounce it, and it’s not important anyway. _I’m_ not important. Who’s important, is The Creator.”

Harry raises his eyebrows, and they chuckle, before continuing. “The Creator is very...powerful. They are powerful, and like things to be Their way, and only Their way. Of course, there are others -like me, but more powerful- who could be just as powerful as The Creator, but things have been this way for several millennia now, and none of them really like change, so nothing will happen there. That’s not important right now though.”

“What’s _important_ , my dear Harry, is that I got bored a few centuries ago, and I wanted to make something. Of course, The Creator wouldn’t allow me to create something as magnificent as our home, or anything else of that scale, so I made you.”

They give Harry a fond look, before continuing. “I made you, and all your friends, as a sort of experiment I suppose.” They sigh. “The Creator had some rules though, and that’s where this….trouble, has been stirred up.” They begin to look more troubled now, and have begun fidgeting with their hands. “The Creator is very jealous, but not very creative, so they didn’t want me creating something that was more grand than anything they could think of. So, when I presented my idea for you and your kind, they weren’t concerned.”

They grin, and shrug. “You were small, and weak, and couldn’t so much as create a galaxy, so you were alright. Then, They realized you had _feelings_. You had free will, and thoughts, and _ambition_. They didn’t like that, so They told me to take that away from you.”

At this point, they are standing, and pacing in front of the chair angrily. “ But I couldn’t _do that_ , not to my children, so I hid them. The feelings were still inside you, but I only let you have peace, happiness, kindness, and a few others that wouldn’t make you curious. It worked, and for the last couple of centuries, you all have been blissful, and it’s been fun giving you new friends.” 

They shake their head, and sit back down. “...and then I gave you Louis. I gave you Louis and you, somehow, both fell in _love_. There was no way The Creator was letting that slip, and….I should have taken him away immediately, because then maybe I wouldn’t have to….maybe I wouldn't have to hurt you.” 

They are looking at Harry sadly again, and the sinking feeling inside Harry that’s slowly become heavier and heavier as they have talked, suddenly plummets.

Whatever it is this person has to do, it’s not good, it’s _awful_ , and Harry can feel an odd sort of wetness beginning to pool in the corner of his eyes. They notice, and immediately are up from their chair and kneeling in front of Harry’s.

“No no Harry, please don’t. I never wanted this for you, I never wanted you to feel this _pain_ , and I’m sorry I have to be the one to do this to you.” They look defeated, and reach a hand up to thumb at a bit of water that has started to fall, before whispering softly. “I never wanted you to learn what tears were.”

Harry licks his lips, then reaches a hand out to hold onto the wrist of the other being.

“P-Please, whatever it is you’re going to do, don’t.” They shake their head, and stand up, still looking down at Harry with a disheartened look.

“I’m sorry Harry, but I have to.” At the soft sob Harry lets out, and consequently looks shocked by, they look torn. They seem to stare off into nothing for a moment, before there’s a determined look on their face. “Harry, I can’t-” They sigh, and kneel down again. “I can’t fix this. If I could I would, but I can’t, and I’m sorry.” They rest a hand on Harry’s forearm. “But. I can let you see your Louis, one last time, before life and death are the only way you can speak to each other.”

Harry’s head snaps up, and he wipes at the tear tracks on his face. “C-Can you? Can you really-” They nod vigorously.

“Yes. I can. It can only be for a short time, but it’s-it’s the least I can do.” Harry nods immediately.

“Yes please. I want to-please take me to my-.” He pauses, then, feeling the word out, continues, “-my love. Take me to my love.” He looks determinedly up at the being in front of him, who nods solemnly in return.

They stand, and pull Harry up with them. All Harry gets as a warning, is a tight squeeze to his hand, before he’s seemingly being pelted through the air. It’s brief, but when he lands, he feels dizzy, euphoric, and there’s an odd, thumping feeling in his chest. Before now, he’d only ever felt it around Louis.

When he finally gets his bearings, he takes in his surroundings. It’s a room much like the one they just brought him out of, except this one is _dark_. Harry can still see, but not as well as he could in the other room. This room is also warmer, and Harry has a brief moment to realize that, before he makes out a tall lean shape in front of him, and he’s letting out a desperate “Louis!”, then running towards him.

He hears a disbelieving “Wha-Harry?” Before he’s crashing into his Louis.

As soon as his arms are around Louis, Louis’s arms are around him, and he feels better than he has in what seems like forever. They hug tightly for several minutes, before Harry pulls away slightly, so he can see Louis’s face.

It’s wet, and it takes Harry a moment before he realizes that they’re _tears_ -something he’s just discovered, and wishes he hadn’t- and he reaches his hands to wipe them away.

“No my love, don’t do that, not while I’m here.” Louis sniffs, but nods, and brings one of his own hands up to wipe at his face. After a minute of composing himself, he leans forward, and presses what Harry guesses is supposed to be a soft kiss to his mouth. Harry doesn’t let it be soft though, because the person said they could only let them be together for a short time, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t kiss his Louis _right_.

He moves his hands from behind Louis so they’re resting on his hips, and uses them to pull Louis closer, before he brings one hand up to cup face. Louis presses into the touch, while also pressing himself into Harry, and all either of them knows is each other.

When they finally have to pull away, Harry sees tears in Louis’s eyes again, feels them in his own eyes as well, and Louis just tightens the grip he has on Harry’s shoulder momentarily. “You-you have to leave again, don’t you Harry?”

His voice comes out small, and it breaks on ‘leave’ and Harry hates this. He’s not entirely sure where that word comes from, but he feels it, absolutely _aching_ in his bones.

He hates The Creator, whoever that is, and he hates the being who made them, and he hates everything, except Louis.

That’s the first time Harry experiences anger, and the second time, is mixed with grief and terror and _agony_ , ten minutes later, when they come back, and have to pull Harry away from _his Louis_ , crying and clutching at each other like their lives depend on it.

As he’s being pulled away, Harry grabs at Louis’s hand, and tries to look as serious as he can.

“I love you. Louis, _Louis_ I love you I love you I _love you_ , and I will do _everything_ I can to make sure you don’t forget that.”

Louis’s able to yell it back once, just once, before Harry is gone.

-

The worst thing about being away from Louis, is that Harry is painfully aware of every single second that passes.

Before, time had no relevance. It was practically nonexistent. But now? Now it’s there, always, reminding Harry of what he lost, and no matter how many times he told Louis _forever_ , that same forever is empty now, and _taunting_.

After the last time Harry and Louis see each other, it’s over a hundred before Harry sees anyone again. This time, it’s not a friendly being who’s sorry for Harry, and it’s not The Creator, who Harry wants to meet just so he can deck them right in the fucking face, but it’s a small pixie like being, who brings on the next part of Harry’s existence.

She tells him that The Creator has decided to punish Harry’s maker, by making their way of life obsolete. They’re not going to intervene anymore, and the only higher beings controlling _anything_ , are going to be Harry and -his very soul jumps at the mention- Louis.

Harry is to bring life. Anything he decides to create, will be.

She also tells him, that Louis’s role is death, though she doesn’t explain what that entails.

Apparently, because this is still a _punishment_ , this planet comes with a sun and a moon.

Harry is the Sun, because he was his creator’s favorite. He is bright, and loved, but if he gets to close to the Moon or the stars, which are Louis’s realm, he’ll destroy both of them, and all of the creatures Harry creates.

She then leaves, and once again, Harry is alone.

This time though, he’s not alone for long.

Almost immediately after the pixie being leaves, Harry can see, well. Everything.

Below him, surrounding him, everywhere, is this planet the pixie told him about. It’s empty at the moment, but after a minute of contemplating, and remembering what the pixie said, Harry thinks up a….thing.

It’s small, and not exactly _pretty_ , but after a while of thinking, he decides to call it a snake. After a few days of watching the snake, he feels bad because he left it alone, and he makes another snake, just like it.

Then, because this is an entire _planet_ , and for the first time in a hundred years he’s not angry or crying, he makes another _thing_.

This one, is kind of like a snake, except a _lot_ bigger, and it has legs. He calls this one a dinosaur, and he loves it.

Over the years, he continues to make more and more creatures, some like the others, but with small differences, and some _completely_ different from everything else. They all start _living_ ; eating, forming bonds, and Harry is something close to happy.

Sometimes, when the part of his precious little world he’s on goes briefly dark, when he struggles and holds on with every fibre of his being, he’s able to stand in darkness. It’s always brief, and it _hurts_ , because the sun’s rays are cruel in their pulling and tugging, he looks at the stars, and hopes that for that brief moment, Louis, his beautiful moonbeam, can see him.

Then the light pulls him away, and none of his little creations can cheer him up.

-

One day, about a three hundred years after the world began, he’s thinking about what the pixie told him. It’s the first time he’s really thought about it, because most of the time it just serves to put him in an awful mood, and he can’t create when he’s in that mindset.

She had called him life, and Louis death.

Sun and Moon.

Light and Dark.

Life and Stars.

He’s thinking it over, because he feels like he _missed_ something.

It’s not until a few years later, that he realizes what it is.

Life and Death.

His creator, his and Louis’s creator, had said that life and death would be their only way of speaking to each other.

For some reason, even though Harry had never heard the words before, he knows what they mean. 

Life. He gives the creatures a life, where they are on the planet, and happy.

Death. Apparently Louis is death, and he _knows_ , can feel it, that death is….an absence of life.

His creatures, that are very much an extension of him, and are literally parts of his soul, can only meet death, meet _Louis_ , if Harry lets go of them.

It’s so _twisted_ , that something that isn’t even Harry, that just by being _made_ by Harry, can’t even be with Louis unless it’s dead, and it’s soul is _gone_.

It’s awful, and twisted, but as soon as Harry knows what he has to do, he doesn’t hesitate. He goes to the planet, and finds his first little creation. It’s the first snake he made, and even though he’s made some others, he’s made sure none of them are exactly alike, and this one is _special_.

This one is a cobra, and even though it’s smaller than what Harry had eventually decided was the normal size for a cobra, it’s Harry’s favorite, and he almost can’t bear to make it leave.

Then he thinks about Louis.

He’d _promised_ Louis, that he’d find a way to tell him he loved him, even if he couldn’t do so with words, and he’s going to fucking do it.

When he finds the cobra, it takes him nearly an hour before he’s able to do it, and by the time he's got the little snake in his lap, his hands are shaking, and those damned now familiar tears are welling up in the corner of his eyes.

In the end, it’s quicker than Harry thought it would be. He just lays a trembling hand on the cobra’s head, and just like when he created it, he thinks about what he’s doing, and then the snake goes limp. There’s no more movement, nothing happens, and for a moment, Harry’s afraid he’s done the wrong thing.

Then, there’s a searing pain rushing through him, like it’s tearing at his very being, and then there’s a wisp of….something, leaving the snake’s body. It takes Harry a moment, and then he recognizes it as his first cobra’s soul.

He’d know it anywhere.

The soul leaves, and Harry watches it move skyward, and then the pain is gone.

He has no way of knowing if it _worked_ , if Louis got his gift, so he does what feels _right_ , and he digs a grave for the body of his snake. He cries again, cries those damn tears, and as soon as the snake is firmly buried, he goes back to his white room.

He’s in the room all of five minutes, just staring at the sky in the distance where it’s black, and glowing with the stars, and Louis’s moon. He’s watching it wistfully, with a soft smile on his face, because really, only Louis could be something so beautiful, when he sees something moving.

After a moment of watching it, he realizes it’s a _star_ , and it’s shooting out of the sky. A second later, it hits earth, and Harry goes to where he seen it hit.

A star has never _fallen_ before, and it has Harry worried that something’s terribly, horribly wrong.

When he reaches where the star landed, he finds it’s burned a hole into the ground. As a human, he can see that it looks nothing like what he’d imagined it looked like in the sky, but as a...what, celestial being? He doesn’t know. He can see it’s something more.

He leans over to touch it, and when he does, it glows softly. Curious, he gets it out of the hole, and holds it up, studying it. After a moment, he makes out a sort of engraving on the side, and when he turns it over, he sees a sketch. Of a _snake_.

When he realizes what it is, he brings a hand up to run it through his hair, and slowly falls until he’s sitting on the ground. Tears have welled up in his eyes _again_ , but for the first time, they’re not awful, angry tears.

They’re _happy_ , because Louis got his gift, and he must have liked it, because he sent Harry one of his stars in return. Harry smiles wildly, even as he cries, and brings his precious star back to his white room, setting it carefully, sketch facing upwards, somewhere he won’t accidentally bump into it.

This time, when he looks towards the moon, there’s a wide grin on his face, and he blows a kiss, before he turns back to look at his planet, already making plans for his next creation.

The pain he felt when he had to take his creation’s life is all but forgotten, and all that’s in its place, is excitement.

-

Things continue like that for the next several hundred years.

Harry creates life, then takes it away, and gets some form of acknowledgement from Louis.

Occasionally it’s like the first time, with falling stars. Sometimes, Louis leaves the stars in the sky, but arranges them into pictures. Harry’s favorite is the one that appeared after Louis received the first wolf he ever made, and he fondly calls it Lupus.

In that time, Harry experiments a lot. He makes things even bigger than his beloved dinosaurs, and calls them dragons. Then there are flaming birds, and horses with horns on their heads, and animals who swim in the vast areas of water, and even some who can both walk on land and swim in the water.

After he finds out that his creations eventually get to Louis, he puts more care into them than he ever would’ve imagined he’d put into anything. Of course, something that doesn’t go away, is the _pain_ he feels whenever he sends one to Louis.

The larger the being, it seems, the more painful it is. He pushes through it at first, because, _christ_ Louis is worth it. Then one day, one of his biggest dinosaurs accidentally drowns, and he’s unable to _move_ for nearly five days, can hardly see through the agony. It’s at that point he decides that dinosaurs and dragons are just _too_ big. 

So he doesn’t create anymore. He lets them all slowly die off, and keeps any of them from reproducing. Every time one of them leaves him, he can feel it for days, and towards the end of it, they all start dying at the same time, and he’s unable to move for nearly a year.

When he’s finally able to collect himself again, his little world is lonely.

His dinosaurs, that were so full of _life_ , and _emotion_ , are all gone, and he feels the loneliness so fresh, he almost gives in and creates more.

He doesn’t though, and a century later, remembers what his own maker had told him.

When they got bored, they created Harry, and all of the others he used to know. He misses them he supposes, but it’s not like he formed any attachments to any of them outside of just knowing them, so the feeling passes fairly quickly.

Harry figures, since his own human form was considerably smaller than the dinosaurs, it won’t hurt nearly as badly if he creates humans, then sends them to Louis.

Also, he’s lonely, and while his dinosaurs and other animals are amazing, he misses having conversations.

So, he creates a person.

He creates a fully functioning person too. Not some _shell_ of a person, who feels no love or hatred, or anything greater than contentment. He creates someone with feelings, and then, as a big _fuck you_ to everything else in the galaxy, he creates another person for the other one to be friends with, or maybe even fall in love with.

He doesn’t _know_ if they'll fall in love. That's the _point_ , he doesn't want to dictate their lives, like his has been.

He's already going to control their death, so why would he control their life too?

A few months later, his two first humans share their first kiss, and Harry cries.

-

He watches his creations fall in love from a distance, because for some reason, he doesn't think he should intrude.

With the animals, it was different. He doesn't know exactly _why_ it was different, just that with the humans, he doesn't feel like he should intrude.

It's hard at first, because when the first human gets into a fight with one of the lions, Harry wants to put a stop to it more than anything. But he doesn't, and after nearly half an hour of watching them hurt each other, Harry finally feels the lions soul leave, and even though he's in pain, he's also _proud_.

His human defended himself, and after a bit, even realizes he's provided food for him and his loved one.

-

Another milestone for Harry’s humans happens later that same day, and it is the first time they make love.

Harry doesn’t watch, because the thought that someone was most likely watching when he and Louis loved each other intimately for the first time makes him want to be sick, but he reminisces instead.

He remembers touching Louis, how _responsive_ he was. How Harry would kiss his thighs, and up to his throat, until Louis would laugh and tell him “quit stalling and _kiss me_ ” and they'd kiss until they were breathless.

Then Harry would continue kissing Louis everywhere, until he was whining and squirming and begging for Harry to take him.

Pushing inside Louis was always just as good as the first time, just knowing he was claiming Louis in a way he knew neither of them would _ever_ let anyone else was always enough to satisfy Harry.

Harry had always been so smug that no one had ever had Louis before, and then he'd thrust into Louis harder as he murmured softly into his ear that no one else ever _would_.

As Harry tears himself from his train of thought, he sighs.

Thinking about the past was a _bad_ idea, and every time he did he felt a million years older than he was.

With a frustrated noise, he shakes himself out of it, and checks to see if his humans have finished yet.

They have, and are lying under the stars, and...are pointing at something.

Harry is confused for a moment, until he looks too, and sees the stars have reformed again.

This time, they make a lion, and Harry feels his heart swell so big it's like it might burst.

With his smile still firmly in place, he blows a kiss to the stars, and whispers a soft “You're welcome, my darling.” Before turning back to his world.

His beautiful, little world, slowly filling to the brim with his love for the moon.

-

Nine months after that, one of Harry’s humans had a baby.

Harry hadn’t really planned that, but really, when he thought about it it just made everything easier. If his humans were able to repopulate on their own, then he wouldn’t have to create every single one of them.

It was fun creating them of course, but he found a lot of joy in seeing how they turned out as they grew. So he made his animals able to do that too, and after a few centuries, his little world was slowly filling with more beautiful life.

Of course, he still had to take that life away, because he couldn’t stand the thought of Louis not receiving gifts from him regularly even more than it made him sad to take their lives away.

After a while, it became something they were all aware of. They all died eventually, and they accepted it, strangely enough. Harry was rather proud of them, because they’d grown to be a very smart species.

They began learning how to communicate through ‘writing’ and they all developed their own languages, some had darker skin, some had lighter skin. Some had dark hair, some had lighter. Some of these differences were purposely created by Harry, but for the most part, it just happened.

Of course, after a while, his creations began to develop emotions that Harry hadn’t experienced until, well.

There was _hatred_ , on some people's’ parts. And there was fear, and anger. Harry wasn’t sure what would come of it, but when one of his humans killed another for the first time, he was shocked.

He felt the human's soul leave, in the worst way possible.

It was terrifying mostly, but feeling that soul leave hurt more than any soul had hurt since the first time he’d taken one.

But, for the most part, his humans were _good_ , and even though they made bad decisions occasionally, he still loved them, because in the end, they were for his little love.

-

The strangest thing he felt his humans ever did, was start coming up with explanations as to how they all got put on earth. They came up with gods, and big bangs, and generally, just a lot of different things to believe in.

For the most part, he let them believe what they believed and didn’t really care either way. They told their stories, and occasionally he’d listen in and enjoy them. Then they come up with a love story between the sun and the moon.

There were a lot of different versions, but his favorite was about the sun loving the moon so much, it died every night so the moon could live.

It wasn’t very accurate, and it wasn’t as sad as the real story, but Harry knew that if he’d had to die every night to let Louis live, then he most certainly would have, and that was enough for him.

-

As the world’s popularity increases, Harry’s well-being decreases.

At first when a soul would leave its body, Harry would just feel a slight twinge of discomfort, and then he’d move on. As time wears on though, he feels each soul more distinctly, and the distance between each death gets to be so minimal, he’s living in a state of constant pain for eons.

It’s gradual, and for the first while there’s a couple centuries where the pain is consistent, so it’s almost like he’s not feeling any pain at all, until it increases again.

He refuses to keep things from dying though, because sure, he wouldn’t hurt physically anymore, but _Louis_.

Louis would think something had happened to Harry, or even worse, would think Harry had just given up on him. On _loving_ him.

There’s no _way_ Harry’s letting that happen, so he continues to let his creatures die, because he’ll be _damned_ before he lets Louis think he doesn’t care anymore.

-

Several thousands of years after Harry created his earth, and a handful of thousands after his creatures deaths start to _really_ hurt, he comes back from a couple hundred years in China, to his endless white room, and finds he has a visitor.

It’s the being who had created everything Harry had known before all this _shit_ , and the one who had single handedly ruined _everything_ for him.

The sight of them makes Harry want to scream, and then punch them right in the face, but suddenly, he’s just too exhausted, and instead he makes a chair appear, and slumps back into it.

They still haven’t said anything, and are just sitting there watching him, until Harry sighs frustratedly.

“ _Well_? What do you want?”

They let out a startled laugh, then quickly school their face back into impassiveness when Harry scowls.

“I’m sorry I just-you’ve developed an attitude.”

Harry glares . “It’s not an attitude, it’s hatred. Now _what_ do you want?”

They sigh, then slump slightly. “I’m sorry, I never intended for you to hate me-” they ignore Harry’s snort. “- _but_ I understand why you do. Why I’m here though, isn’t to argue about whether you should hate me or not. I’m here to discuss your…..health.”

Harry raises his eyebrows, and shrugs. “There’s nothing wrong with my health, so you can leave.” He waves sarcastically. “ _Goodbye_ , adios, leave me the fuck alone.” They just give him an unimpressed look.

“I’m not leaving until we’ve discussed this.”

Harry stares back silently, then a few minutes later, looks away, lips tightly pressed together. They huff, then continue.

“I’m serious, the way you’re letting your creations die and repopulate so rapidly, you’re hurting yourself far worse than you should be.” Harry shrugs, but remains silent. “ _Harry_ you can’t continue like this! If you do you might hurt yourself beyond repair!”

He jolts. Because no one’s called him his name in _ages_ , and the fact that this-this _thing_ knows his name, infuriates him.

“Well I don’t care! I’m not going to just stop-”

“-you _have_ to though!”

They glare at each other again, until Harry just shakes his head and continues speaking, his voice calmer than he thought possible. “I don’t have to do anything, and I’m not going to stop. I’m going to continue to let them die, because if I stop, then-” He swallows, and takes a deep breath before continuing. “-then how the hell else am I supposed to tell my Louis I love him?”

They let out a defeated sigh. “Harry _please_ , even The Creator is growing concerned-”

Harry stands up, glare firmly back in place. “If the _creator_ is so fucking concerned, then why the fuck did they do this in the first place?!” The person is shaking their head.

“I’m sorry but They can’t, it’s not-”

“Get out!” Their eyes widen, and they look like they’re going to interrupt, so Harry shakes his head, and musters up the strength to fling them backwards. “I’m serious, _leave me alone_! I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear how _sorry_ you are, just _go_!”

They’ve managed to get to their feet again, and after Harry’s done, they give him a horrible, sad look, before disappearing.

Harry stares at the spot they were standing in for several moments, before he finally moves. He doesn’t go far, just sits down, and folds his legs up so he can rest his head on his knees.

Using his power like that hadn’t been smart, because even though it was satisfying, he hurts like _hell_. After a few minutes of breathing through the pain, the tears that have been building up finally start to fall.

He hates this. It’s not fair.

He’s watched his humans fall in love, over and over again. They’ve kissed, and fucked, and gotten married, had _children_ , and a whole life together, sometimes with more than two in one relationship.

Sure, some of them didn’t last, some ended horribly, but the point is they either got to be in love, or the love eventually ended one way or another.

But Harry and Louis? They have to suffer, year after year after century after century, and there’s no end in sight.

It isn’t _fair_ , but the worst part, is that even though there doesn’t see an end, it doesn’t seem like they’ll ever even _see_ each other again, Harry can’t let it go.

And judging by the meteors with the occasional little sketch drawn into them, the ever-changing constellations, and even the humans that occasionally come back to life for a brief moment with stories of a _being_ talking to them about love, Louis can’t either.

-

Things all come to head barely a thousand years later.

Over the last couple hundred years, Harry’s energy has gotten to the point where he barely leaves his white room, and he hasn’t created anything new in what seems like an eternity.

He just watches life continue on his little earth, and he’s strangely content. The population has slowly started to dwindle, because he just doesn’t have the energy to keep it up.

The humans panicked at first, when they suddenly couldn’t reproduce anymore, but now it seems they’ve accepted it. It’s morbidly calming, in a way, knowing his world won’t continue if he won’t.

The closer the population gets to dying off, the more Harry _hurts_. He hurts when he closes his eyes, when he listens to the conversations his humans have, it just always hurts.

Every time a soul leaves, he feels himself get weaker. With the population so small, he can also tell who it is that’s left.

That’s probably worse than anything.

He’s also started sleeping again, and at one point, he wakes up, and the earth is…..it’s empty.

He’s somehow able to gather enough of his power to go to it, and he spends about an hour just walking around what he’s fairly certain was New York, before he collapses onto a park bench.

This is it. He’s not sure how he knows, because really, he doesn’t hurt _that_ bad, now that nothing is dying anymore, but he knows.

With a sudden, loud, sob, he thinks of Louis.

Nothing’s died in days, and in the last few billion years, he’s made sure Louis hasn’t gone a full rotation without a gift. Now though? Who knows what Louis’ thinking.

With a half hearted sniff, Harry hopes that _maybe_ , Louis’s moved on, and he just won’t care.

Maybe, if there’s any sort of kindness at all, Louis has found a soul he likes, and has forgotten about Harry. Even if his heart clenches, and he sobs again at the though, he’d much rather that be the case than Louis being _alone_.

After a moment, Harry moves from the bench to the ground, and contemplates for a moment, before he waves his hand through the air, and creates a cobra.

_That_ hurts. It rips through him, and he falls sideways, unable to support himself, until he catches his breath. He stays on the ground, panting, though he smiles when the cobra makes it's way over to him, and curls up next to him.

He starts petting it, and he must lay there for hours, putting off the inevitable, before he sighs, and looks at the snake.

“I’m sorry to do this baby, but we’ll go together, okay?” The snake doesn’t react, and he feels tears well up in his eyes, as he raises his hand, trembling just like the first time, and begins pulling the snake’s soul from its body.

It’s painful, and takes much longer than it used to, but then suddenly, the soul is in the air, and Harry catches a small glimpse of it floating away, before he falls back, and he knows nothing more.

-

Louis sighs, and stares desperately at the little swirling mass the souls usually come through.

_Usually_ being the keyword. In truth, there hasn’t been a new soul in days, not since the last one came through. That had been a woman named Sonya, and what she’d told him had been….worrying.

Apparently, she had been the last human left on earth. She hadn’t been sure about animals, but judging by the fact nothing had come after her, he was fairly certain she’d been the last living thing at all.

That information had him checking the portal once every five minutes at first, until Liam-a human who had come to him in 2000 something- had pulled him away and forced him to focus on something else.

It had worked for an hour or two, but in between figuring out what was going on between a couple of bickering humans, and going on an afterlife-wide search for his treasured cobra, his first gift from Harry, he still found himself glancing towards the portal at every opportunity.

After nearly two weeks of absolutely _nothing_ , and several pushed away thoughts of _whathappenedwhat’swrongisHarryokay_ , something finally happens.

The portal starts moving oddly, like it always does when a soul comes through, and Louis dares to hope for a split second, before the soul finally comes through.

A hush falls over the small group of people and animals he allows in what Louis has cleverly nicknamed the entryway, and when he moves forward to touch the soul, no one dares to move.

When he touches it, he immediately knows it isn’t Harry -as much as he’d _hoped_ but hadn’t let himself hope it would be- but instead, a cobra.

Louis just blinks at the little thing -it’s still a _baby_ \- before he finally registers what it means, and he collapses onto the ground.

A cobra was the first thing Harry had ever sent to him, _ever_ , and he’d gotten the last of the species a long time ago.

So Harry had made a new one then, because Louis knows that nothing had been born on earth in years.

Harry had made a new cobra, had sent it to him _young_ , and that means….

Louis doesn’t want to finish the thought.

This means something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong, and there’s nothing Louis can do about it. He can’t help Harry with whatever it is, fuck, he can’t even _figure out_ what it is.

After who knows how long, Louis feels a hand on his shoulder. He jumps, and looks up to see Liam, giving him a sad smile.

Liam knows everything, so Louis’ sure he understands what’s going on, and he doesn’t bother smiling back.

A few moments later, he finally gets up, and carefully hands the cobra to one of his friends.

“Could you….” She nods, and when she leaves the room, everyone else does too, and leaves him alone.

After they leave, he stands and stares blankly at the portal, trying to get ahold of his emotions. That proves pointless, because barely thirty seconds later he’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, with his face buried in his hands.

Sadly, unlike a fuckjillion years ago, tears aren’t such a foreign concept to him anymore.

He has no idea what he’s going to do. The only thing that’s kept him going for _years_ is the anticipation of more of Harry’s gifts. It’s selfish, he _knows_ that, but he can’t help it.

Harry was the first thing he ever seen, and even after he’d seen other people, he was still the most beautiful. He’s certain if he seen Harry now, he’d still be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, even with all the people, and different animals he’s seen now.

When the tears finally stop -for now, because he can still feel more resting, thick and awful in the back of his throat- he takes a deep breath, before standing.

Sitting here and wishing isn’t going to make him feel better, so he’s going to go find Liam. Liam doesn’t know anymore than Louis does, and probably won’t have an answer for him, but at the very least, he’ll give Louis a fucking good hug, and help him figure out how to make it to tomorrow.

When he’s almost out of the little room, he turns back and looks out of the portal. Almost as an afterthought, he walks over to it, then, like he has so many other times, looks at the stars that are dancing around in the sky. He thinks for a moment, before willing them to move.

When they do, they’ve formed half a heart.

He doesn’t know if Harry will see it, or if he does, that he’ll even _care_ , but he feels a little better. 

He still can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s off, but he decides to deal with that later.

With a final look at the stars, he turns and leaves the room, hoping beyond hope that everything will be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

_“I’m sorry Louis, I really, truly am. You can never know. But Harry’s-he’s gone.”_

_“No. He can’t be. You’re lying.”_

_“I’m sorry, but I’m not. He couldn’t….he used too much of his own essence—his own soul—far too often, for far too long, so he just-”_

_Louis shakes his head, his voice desperate, pleading. “You’re **lying**.”_

_“I’m not. I wish I was, and I wish he had listened to me, but he didn’t. He used his essence, to continue to send you souls, and even though he was strong, he couldn’t take it. Even I couldn’t save him. I truly am sorry Louis, but Harry…..he’s dead.”_

-

Three thousand years.

That’s a long time to spend without a loved one, and a long time, period. But it’s even longer when you’re painfully aware of every second passing, not knowing when it’s going to finally _end_.

Not knowing when finally you’ll be able to stop hurting, or feeling.

Sometimes, Louis wonders if he could figure out a way to die. But then he remembers he’s got people, and animals, and other beings who care about him, and depend on him, and he can’t let them down, can he?

Still, it must be nice, he finds himself thinking, to die, and find peace.

Then he thinks about how it must have been for Harry. His sweet, lovely, Harry.

He hopes and prays that his sunshine found peace.

-

Louis remembers the first time he saw Harry.

Remembers being _oh_ so confused, though he couldn’t have identified the feeling at that time.

Then his eyes found Harry, and to put it simply, he was in awe.

Harry used to tell Louis—back when things were beautiful— that the blue in his eyes was the prettiest color he’d ever seen. Nevermind the flowers that grew in bright, expressive colors just outside Harry’s —eventually _their_ — home.

Now, centuries later, Louis knows that was a lie, because Harry never got to see his own eyes.

Never got to see the way they sparkled when he looked at Louis, or how the shade of them always changed, just slightly, depending on the colors of their surroundings. He never got to see the way the beauty of their surroundings reflected in them, and suddenly became even more beautiful.

It almost chokes him, the pain that thoughts of Harry bring, but he can’t just…..forget.

So he remembers, and he cries, and hopes somehow, somewhere, Harry is happy, and, if fate is kind in any way at all, he doesn’t know how much Louis is hurting.

-

His souls, his darling gifts, tell him none of them ever interacted with Harry. There were stories about a God, Allah, Zeus, and other deities that people worshipped. But as far as Louis knows, Harry, in his true form, never actually spoke to any of them.

How lonely he must have been, for all those years.

How lovely he was, for making sure Louis wasn’t.

Sometimes, his souls will pull him aside, away from his thoughts and the sadness that constantly plague him. They sit him down, gather around him, and they say, “ _Tell us about Him, please?_ ”

So Louis does.

He starts out, sitting cross-legged, with the space around them empty.

“Let me tell you a story, about the moon-“ he lifts his right hand, and around and above the mass of souls, a moon appears, “-and the sun.”

He lifts his left hand then, and a large sun appears, next to the little moon. Louis takes a deep breath, then moves his fingers, just slightly, and stars appear around them, almost protectively.

“I, am the Moon. I am the stars, and I am here to love you.” He twists his right wrist, and a swirling mist of stars and galaxies settles around them. 

He grins, at the awed sounds he draws from his souls, then shushes them gently, before continuing.

“My beloved Harry, he is the Sun. He is light, the bringer of life, and your protector.” 

With a flourish, he moves his left wrist up, and the sun moves up as well, casting a warm glow over the crowd. Movement begins bursting out from the sun then, little sunbeams in the form of people, and various animals beginning to run amongst the crowd.

He lets them have their fun, for just a moment, then begins speaking again. The tears are there again, as they usually are, but for now, they’re out of love and wonder, instead of sadness. That will come later.

He closes his hands into fists then, and the sparkling, moving mass around them disappears abruptly.

His audience collectively lets out sounds of disappointment, and he smiles.

“The Sun, my Sun, he loves me. Loves me so much he gave me all of you, to love and cherish” He glances around, then smiles. “He loves all of you as well. I see it in the way he tried, in little ways, to shape you after me. Tried to give you the best parts of me, in his eyes.”

Louis wiggles his fingers, and sparks of light move from his fingertips as he speaks. “I see it in the blues of your eyes, the kindness in your hearts, and the love in your souls. All the things my Sun said he loved most about me.” He opens his hands then, palms up, and more little sparks fly upwards, forming constellations. Harry’s eyes, his curls, his silhouette, his lips. If Louis concentrated hard enough, he can pretend he hears his laugh coming from them.

“All you need to know about Harry, my little ones, is that he is _spectacular_ , and loves you all beyond what you can even imagine. If you remember that, remember him, then he will never truly leave us.”

He closes his fists then, for good, and watches as his little crowd disperses.

All he can do as he watches them go, is hope that his own words are right.

-

_“If what you say is true, and my Harry is-is dead, then **you** killed him. This is all your fault, and I am **never** going to stop blaming you for this.”_

_“I know. But you have to understand, Harry’s death, your pain, you two being separated, I never wanted **any** of that, I never meant for any of this to happen.”_

_“But it did! It is! You created our lives and you **ruined** both of them! I can't-”_

_Louis breaks off into a sob, and it's a horrible, wretched sound. They move forward, as if to comfort him, but Louis holds a hand up, the anger in his wet eyes fierce._

_“Don't come near me. I never want to see your fucking face again. Not in this miserable lifetime, or the next.”_

\----

Out of all of the things Louis loved from Harry’s world, his favorite was probably the music.

He remembers, back from when things were easy, Harry singing to him. He’d sing, just for Louis to hear, and Louis had loved it so, _so_ much then. Now, hearing music coming from the mouths of Harry’s creations, Louis loves it even more.

He knows Harry gave them music just so Louis could hear it again. Like everything to come from Harry’s world, it was meant for Louis. Louis loves him impossibly more for it.

And Louis still loves Harry, three thousand years and countless tears later, and it’s the most beautiful, and horrible thing anyone could ever imagine.

-

When Louis wakes up, the first thing he realizes, is that he doesn’t remember falling asleep.

Then he realizes, he hasn’t slept in nearly ten thousand years.

He sits up with a jolt, his heart pounding, and takes in his surroundings.

There’s a water fountain, in the middle of a huge cobblestone courtyard, and beyond that are houses, surrounded by flowers brighter than he’s seen in _years_. It takes him a moment, before he recognizes the place.

This is where he was born, this is where he met Harry, and this is where he’d had Harry ripped mercilessly away from him.

He can feel a strong feeling in the back of his throat, and the much too familiar tears are pushing their way up. This is too much, too fucking _cruel_ , and when he finds the person who brought him here again, he’s going to obliterate them, _slowly_.

Finally, he stands, and tries to decide what he’s going to do.

Obviously, he’s here for some reason, fuck only knows why. God, he wishes Harry were here.

Almost four thousand years and the sting of not having him by his side is still as fresh as it’d been that first day, when he’d woken up alone for the first time in his entire life.

It’s at that moment, that he feels a pull. It’s strong, almost painful, and he has almost no choice but to follow it. 

So he walks. Walks through the little village he’d once called home, now completely deserted. He huffs, almost bitter, when he realizes everything is still in perfect condition.

Years and _years_ of torture, and the almighty _creator_ doesn’t even feel generous enough to give him a wasteland to wander through.

After several minutes of walking, he finally acknowledges to himself exactly where it is this tugging sensation is taking him, and his heart is beginning to pound.

He’d known, of course. Known immediately, even after all this time.

South of the water fountain, go past the lilacs, the pine trees, and the pond. Go West, thirty two houses, turn left, go through the maple trees, and stop.

He stops. And he stares.

It looks the same, of course. It’s still that same earthy brown, with those same roses growing out front, and the same little window on the East side of the house that they’d watched the sun come up through from their bed.

It’s their house, their _home_ , and suddenly Louis is terrified of going near it.

The pulling sensation continues though, and it’s beginning to _hurt_ , so after a few minutes of just trying to calm his breathing, he moves forward.

His palms are sweating, his breathing is labored, and every step he takes sounds like the thundering footstep of a giant.

Before he makes a conscious decision, he’s moving forward, and in a sort of daze, he reaches the front of the house and goes through the doorway.

And oh _god_ , there he is. Beautiful, just as beautiful as Louis remembers.

He’s standing, looking out the East window, probably as dazed as Louis must have back in the courtyard, and he doesn’t seem to have noticed Louis. 

After a couple seconds of trying to get his voice back, Louis finally moves forward slightly, and, trembling, gasps out a shaky “Harry?”

Harry’s head whips around, and he gasps as well. “Louis? Is this….?”

Louis sobs, and the next thing he knows, he’s wrapped up in Harry’s arms, feeling _safe_ , and _loved_ , for the first time in oh, so long. He sobs again, and he can’t catch his breath, and he’s certain he’s going to pass out, but then there’s a delicate and careful hand carding through his hair, and softly murmured words are being whispered in his ear, and suddenly, he can breathe again. It’s then that he becomes aware that Harry is sobbing too, has his own face buried in Louis’ shoulder, but has somehow managed to get them pulled onto _their_ bed, with Louis curled up into him.

He manages to force out an “I love you”, almost chokes on it as if it’ll kill him to not say it. Harry echoes it back immediately, sounding _devastated_ , and then there are lips on his, and oh _god_ , if this is just a dream, Louis never wants to wake up.

Louis doesn’t know how long they’ve been like that -it could be centuries for all he cares-, when there’s a bright light filling their home, and They are standing there.

Immediately, Harry has Louis up off his lap, and behind him on the bed.

“If you even fucking lay a _hand_ -”

“Harry, you can rest easy. I’m not here to do anything to either of you.”

Both of them remain tense, and They smile.

“Seeing you two together, it is a blessing, and a sign of good things to come. The Creator is no longer in control anymore, and me and my siblings are free to do as we please.”

Louis’s eyes widen, and he looks at Harry before looking at Them. “Does that mean….”

Their smile widens, and They nod. “Yes. As of right now, you are both free of your wrongly executed punishments, and will _never_ be separated again as long as I have anything to say about it.”

Harry’s mouth drops open for a moment, before it slowly grows into a grin. “You mean-You’re _serious_? We can-We don’t have to be apart?”

“Never again my child.” Harry’s eyes well up with tears, and he reaches behind him for Louis’ hand. 

Louis takes it immediately, both of them clutching so hard that, had they been human, their fingers would probably be broken.

“And where will we live? What of my Earth? Louis’ souls? What will happen?” They look thoughtful.

“I hadn’t really thought about Earth. Would you like to keep it?” Harry and Louis both give Them a quizzical look, and They smile. “Together of course. It would be like last time, but you would be together.”

The two share a glance, a smile, and then nod. Four thousand years, and still, no words are needed.

Then again, they’ve spent four thousand years without words, maybe it’s to be expected.

-

Harry’s —and now Louis’— Earth is still there.

Harry is the Sun, and Louis is the Moon.

This time though, the Moon and Sun can meet, and share a kiss as a shower of stars falls around them.

They watch _their_ souls grow, watch them thrive, watch them love and live and die.

It’s beautiful. It’s theirs, and finally, _finally_ , it’s home.


End file.
